If there was ever any proof needed that Volkswagen was seeking to bury its proletarian background and join the other German manufacturers at the top end of the market, it is the existence of the W12 Coupe. Originally thought to be a concept car, the 600 bhp twelve-cylinder W12 was suddenly taken seriously last October when VW rolled it onto the racetrack and averaged a staggering 294 kmh (183 mph) over 24 hours, then announcing it would go into production. Then VW went back to the racetrack and smashed their own 24 hour record by 663 km, pushing the 24 hour average speed past 200mph (323km/h)